Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Book Review - Lajja (Shame)

Lajja, The Controversial novel by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, is a savage indictment of religious extremism and man's inhumanity to man

For people who aren't familiar with the book, Lajja is a book by Taslima Nasrin recording events in Bangladesh after the babri masjid demolition in India. For expressing her views, there was a fatwa taken out against her in Bangladesh. Taslima is currently in exile in India while the government dilly dally's on her citizenship application.

December 6 1992, Hindu Fundamentalists converge at Ayodhya to bring down the Babri Masjid believed to built on the birthplace of Hindu God Ram. These events gave rise to Hindu-Muslim riots all over the country.

The anger spilled over into the neighbouring countries, Muslims in Bangladesh took out their anger against the minority Hindu community.

I knew Lajja had a lot of historical baggage associated with it and the book holds back no punches. It is a very touching story about a family caught in the widespread riots in bangladesh. I had read about the troubles in bangladesh, but never imagined the widespread reaction to an incident in another country.

The chasm between religions seems to be looking out for any reason to widen further. Taslima had to flee her country because fundamentalists in her country could not accept her voiceing an opinion.

For anyone researching into the events revolving around Babri Masjid, this book is a must read. At the least you come away with the senseless nature of human intolerance and extremism.